Louder Ramblings
by KaseyM1113
Summary: A series of one-shot ideas I had from TT25 round 3 that I wasn't able to write in time for the challenge.


**So, after writing the drabble for prompt 18 and submitting it, I was bitten by this other plot bunny about it. And then it happened again with a different prompt as well. Basically these are just me "exercising" my writing my muscles. I'm posting them because various drabbles received reviews expressing interest in the full story behind them. Hope you enjoy them!**

"Hey, Alice," I said, slipping into my seat next to her in class.

"Hey, Bella," she said with a smile. "How's it going? I take it you're feeling better from the other day?"

"Yeah, thanks." I answer, as I set my bag down on the floor next to me and lean over to get my notebook and a pen out. Once I have it opened to the correct page, I look back at the girl next to me. "Um, do you think I could borrow your notes from last class? I'm going to hit the library for bit before my next class so I should be able to have them back to you by the end of the day."

She flashes me a quick grin and tells to me to hang on a second from where she's rummaging through her own bag in search of whatever color highlight she uses for this class. I swear the girl's crazy. She explained it all to my once, but all I really caught was that she has to use a specific colored everything for each individual class. Like this one, I think she uses green. Green highlighter, green page flags, green notebook, I swear if she wasn't so crazy about only using blue ink to write her notes she'd use a green pen even. I love her though, so I don't bother her about it. Usually anyway.

Having finally found the correct highlighter, she opens up her notebook and begins to remove the sheets with last class' notes on them saying, "Yeah, of course it's no problem. And it's not a big deal if you don't get them back to me until Wednesday. I don't usually type my notes until the end of the week, that way I can do them all at once."

She's crazy I tell you, but right now she's is saving my ass, so I care even less. "Thank you so much! You're a lifesaver," I tell her while slipping them into the back of my notebook and facing the front of the class where the professor is getting ready to start the day's lesson.

BBB

Shit. Shit. Shit. She is going to kill me. I cannot believe this is happening, but at the same time it makes sense. Something like this would only happen to me. Of course, the one time I borrow someone's notes is also the one time I don't bother to put my notebook in my bag since I'm just going to take it right back out once I get to the library. The part I don't understand though is how the papers got ripped out of the back of the thing in the first place. The winds not that strong.

Course none of that matters. The only part that does matter is that the papers ended up in a puddle. Fuck. Okay, maybe they won't be completely ruined when I get them and I can type them up for her, and she'll understand that sometimes things just happens, and it'll be fine.

Yeah. I don't believe that either.

BBB

Okay, here goes nothing. Walking down the steps towards my seat feels like I'm walking to the gallows. Glad I brought my sense of ridiculousness to this one. With a soft sigh that doesn't go unnoticed by my would be executioner, I drop into my seat.

"Hey, Bella. Everything okay? You didn't have any trouble reading my writing did you? Sometimes it can get a bit messy when Byrn gets talking too fast," Alice says, picking up a bit of speed at the end, belying her obvious concern.

Great, make me feel even worse. "No, Alice. It was fine," I tell her. No, the problem wasn't your writing, it was the fact that I let the pages fly off into a puddle.

"Okay," she says, looking at me confusedly. "so then, what is wrong?"

Letting out a quick breath I decide to just tell her quickly, like I'm pulling off a bandaid, and if she looks like she's too angry I can just make a run for it. "Well, okay here's the thing. Just, remember, it was an accident. Remember how I didn't put my notebook away last class because I was just heading straight to the library?" She nods her head, so I continue. "Yeah turns out, that was a dumb move. As I was walking there the wind was blowing, as usual, and well it caught the pages and blew them away."

Seeing the look on her face I quickly continue before she has an aneurism or something. "I have them. They didn't blow far. The problem is," here I let out another breath, stalling for time like the chicken shit I am, "well, they landed in a puddle. I got to them quickly enough to be able to read them. And I typed them up for you because, well obviously I wasn't about to give them back to you like that. But, I am so sorry. I don't know how it happened. They were in the back of my notebook against my chest, and the wind wasn't even that strong, you know. Especially not for here." Oh, God, I'm rambling. I can't seem to stop though. "Somehow, they got away though. I tried to grab them but they were too fast, and before I could do more than stand there in shock at what was happening they were in the puddle ..."

Suddenly, Alice's hand is covering my mouth and she's giggling at me. "Bella" she says still giggling, "It's okay. Shit happens. Besides you typed them up for me, it's fine."

Thank God she's taking this well. Still I offer, "OKay, but I still feel bad. If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, just tell me."

Oh shit. Should not have said that. The gleam in her eye can only be described as evil. Okay, maybe mischievous works too, but that's not the point at all.

"Actually," she begins, that gleam just fucking getting bigger and bigger because she knows she has me, "there is something. We'll talk later though okay, class is about to start.

Fuck. I'm not going to retain anything today now.

BBB

We're sitting in the coffee shop in the campus center. Alice is just sitting there bouncing along to the music playing in here and smiling, not saying a word. This is deliberate. I swear she's trying to drive me insane. Or trying to make me ask her what she wants me to do for her. Yeah, well two can play this game pixie, and as I have a very large mug of coffee in front of me I'll last for a pretty long time. Picking up my cup, I tilt my head slightly to the side while raising an eyebrow at her, but otherwise do not react in any way to her continued silence.

Finally, she lets out a sigh, and with a slight pout informs me "I thought for sure you'd cave and just ask me like ten minutes ago. You're no fun when you don't play by the rules."

"What rules? I'm just more patient than you think." I inform her, head still tilted to the side, eyebrow still raised.

"How 'bout this" she says, sounding more than slightly annoyed. Good, if she's annoyed about it she might give up on it. "If you stop making that face at me, I'll tell you." Oh, that's cute, she's trying to be all fierce and in control. Sorry, Pixie, that's not how I roll.

"And if I don't?" I ask, tilting my head a little further and raising my eyebrow just that much more to piss her off further.

"Then I'll spring it on you at the last possible moment, and you'll be completely unable to negotiate on anything," she says sounding more than slightly militant. It's odd hearing that tone coming out of her, but it's kind of scary. Not that I would ever tell her that or anything.

"Fine. I'lll behave," I tell her, not bother to sound anything other than sullen about it, untilting my head and lowering my eyebrow. "What's the plan for torture?"

"Okay, before I tell you that, we need to talk about something first," she tells me, with a weird look on her face.

What is this fuckery? "Um, what happened to telling me?"

"We'll get there," she says, a reassuring note I do not appreciate in her voice. "I just first want to make sure it's not out of line."

Okay, now I'm really lost. What exactly would qualify as out of line? Killing someone? "Um, what do you mean?" I ask, and despite my best efforts my voice has a slight quaver to it.

"I know you like Edward," she says out of nowhere. This is the last thing I was expecting. I mean, one, how the fuck does she know that? I haven't told anyone. At all. Ever. Two, well, just what the hell?

"Okay, seriously Bella." Alice says, taking a quick sip of her latte before continuing. "One, I'm not blind. Two, you're completely obvious about it to anyone who knows you at all. And three, even if neither of those were true, we're all the same major and there are only so many classes available. We've had a ton together. Hell, we each have a class with him without each other as well as the one we all have, a blind tree sloth would have noticed by this point."

She has a point. Not one I would freely admit to if she hadn't cornered me into it, but a point nonetheless. "Okay, fine," I finally acknowledge with a huff, "I like him. Of course I do. As if he's not already hot enough between the hair and the eyes and that freaking body, he's smart as hell, has those fuck-hot glasses that he wears when he's clearly feeling lazy and can't be bothered to shave or put his contacts in, and he's just a really nice guy. I was doomed from the second he walked past me in the first class we had together."

Yeah, you're smirking now, wench, because you think any of that means anything. Definitely don't feel bad about bursting that bubble on you. "Don't look so happy Alice, it doesn't matter how I feel about him because he will never, I repeat _never_, feel that way about me. He's beautiful and intelligent and really just amazing. I'm just me. Yeah, I like him, but I'm not stupid enough to think anything could ever come of that." Good, the smile's fallen a bit. Maybe she'll actually see reason for once. "Besides," I add after a minute of self-pity over the fact that someone like Edward is so completely unattainable for me, "that has nothing to do with anything. You still need to tell me what you want."

Great, that smirk is back. "Bella, Bella, Bella," she says as if I'm some small little kid who doesn't understand why I shouldn't eat lead-based paint. "It has everything to do with it. First, we'll deal with your ridiculous self-esteem issues later. Second, he does like you. That's the other thing I've noticed over all this time. When you're not looking at him, he's usually looking at you." She's getting excited, I note absently, her speech is speeding up. "And, okay, you know him and Jasper are friends, and Jasper's in the class that you have with him without me. Well, Jasper noticed him staring at you the other day and called him on it. He completely copped to Jasper about his feelings for you. Stop shaking your head at me missy, I'm telling you, he admitted to Jasper that he likes you. I wouldn't make shit like that up, what kind of a person do you take me for?" And now she's offended. But really Alice, what's he going to say to Jasper? Somehow I really don't think "Oh, I'm just trying to figure out how it is that a girl like her is actually friends with your girlfriend" is an actual option.

"Alice," I say, exasperated "what's your point? I like him, via a debatable source you have alleged information that he likes me. What does this have to do with anything?"

"Well, if you'd stop interrupting long enough for me to tell you, you'd know now wouldn't you?" she says, sounding all smug as if she beat me at something. Sorry I didn't realize conversing was a contest.

"Stop with the fucking mind games Alice, and just tell me already," I grumble, feeling more and more aggravated the longer she stalls.

"Ugh, fine," she finally says, clearly put out that I'm not playing along today. "The point is, the party on Friday at Rose's boyfriend's frat? You're going. You're going to let me play Bella Barbie before hand so you look super hot. And you're going to do _something_ to show Edward how you feel."

"_What_!" I scream, both out loud and in my head. "Are you fucking crazy?" She has to be. That is insane. How could she do this to me? She knows I'm not the kind of girl who can just walk up to a guy and be all 'Ohai, how's it going? You're hot, let's make out.' I'm shy. I blush. And stutter. And make a fucking ass out of myself. "Alice, first of all, I don't know your friend Rose. Second, because of that first thing, I'm not invited to the party. Third, and perhaps most importantly, what makes you think Edward's even going to be there, and even if he is that he's actually going to give me half a chance to do whatever cock and bull scheme you come up with for me?"

She's glaring at me. Clearly, she's not amused that I'm trying to ruin her little plan of idiocy. "Since you're apparently in a list making mood, I'll answer your points in order. First," wipe that smirk off your face, bitch. You aren't fucking funny. "You've met Rose. She's the blond that you're intimidated by because you think she's too pretty to speak to you. Which, by the way, is asinine, she's just a person. Second, I'm invited to the party, and I can bring anyone I want. And before you try it, no I'm not 'bringing' Jasper. He's already invited on his own since he's friends with Emmett and the guys. Third, Jasper and Edward are friends. Jasper and Emmett are friends. Do the math Bella, Edward and Emmett are friends and therefore Edward's invited. Even if he wasn't though, you know full well I'd get Jasper to get him to come. Don't act stupid, it isn't cute. And, I know he'll let you because he's so into you he'll do whatever it takes to get you to continue speaking to him once you've started."

I swear, she doesn't need oxygen. She barely breathed during all of that. She takes a longer pull of her latte, then shoots me a smirk as she holds it between her hands. "Now, I must say, I'm glad you're not going to throw a tantrum over Bella Barbie. We both know it's inevitable, and I'm really not in the mood for it today."

Wait, what? Bella Barbie? I did _not_ agree to this. "Um, you didn't give me a chance Alice. Don't look so smug, it's not cute." I tell her, throwing her own words back in her face. "However, given the fact that I know I can't win against your evil, I'm willing to compromise. No, shut the fuck up," I tell her, glaring when she tries to interrupt me. "You know we don't have the same style, and quite frankly, given the rest of what you're planning, I don't trust you at all to not put me in something that makes me feel either completely uncomfortable or like a straight up whore. That being said, I have final veto. You can pick out a bunch of outfits if you want, but what I walk out that door in is going to be up to me at the end. And, before the evil gets too out of control, keep in mind that if all the outfits you pick get vetoed, I will be picking something, on my own, from my own closet. Remember that when you go raid the mall later."

"God, you're just trying to ruin all my fun aren't you?" she says with a pout. She's trying to get her way. Too bad I'm not caving on this.

"No, I'm simply refusing to allow you to make me any more uncomfortable than strictly necessary. If you really want me to be able to even speak to him, I need to feel comfortable, and I won't if I'm wearing clothes that aren't me and make me feel cheap and easy. I know you wouldn't do it intentionally Alice, but what you consider appropriate isn't always going to be the same thing that I do. Let me have this, you can do my hair, you can do my make up within reason, don't get crazy ok, but this is non-negotiable."

She takes another drink while mulling it over. After a full minute of thinking, she narrows her eyes at me and says, "I get to do your hair and makeup, and you're going to wear something other than your Chuck's and we have a deal."

"Fine," I say, knowing this is the best I can hope for, "but, not heels. Unless of course you're hoping to visit the ER and miss most of the party."

"Please, Bella," she says with a smirk of her own, "I know better than that by now. Meet me here after your last class Friday so we can grab a quick bite to eat and then we'll go to my place to get ready."

BBB

"Oh, my God! No! I am _not_ wearing that. Are you inane?" Friday came entirely too quickly for my liking. We'd grabbed dinner at the sub and salad place on campus before heading to Alice's apartment to "get ready for my big night." Now I'm sitting on her bed, alternately being horrified and disgusted at her choices, and contemplating ways of hiding her tiny little body after I've killed her.

"Why not?" she asks, doing more whining than anything. I'm not really surprised she's whining given that I've said no to pretty much everything she's shown me so far. Not being surprised by it doesn't mean it's not annoying, however, so my answer is a bit more irritated sounding than I planned.

"I'm not wearing it Alice. Remember that whole 'I don't want to seem cheap and easy thing?" She just narrows her eyes at me, not liking where I'm taking it. "Well, aside from the fact that the front is cut so low I'm pretty sure you could see my belly button, if it were any shorter it wouldn't have a snowman's chance in Hell of even being considered a dress. As it is, I think it's more likely to be a long shirt than anything else. There's no way it could cover my ass if I did anything other than stand utterly still all night."

"Why is it that no matter what I pull out you don't like it Bella? I swear it's like you're vetoing everything just to spite me and be a bitch." Her angry face drops just long enough for me to see that underneath it she's actually hurt. Fuck. I know she tried really hard with this, she picked out so many outfits in her attempt to find something I would like.

"Alice, you know full well I'm not trying to spite you and I'm not continually saying no to be a bitch." She's giving me this weird look like she wants to believe me but doesn't. "Don't look at me like that. I'm really not," I tell her, trying to sound soothing despite how crazy this whole thing has had me feeling for the last few days. "It's just ... I told you. I don't want him to think I'm cheap and easy. And while I'm sure _you_ could pull any of those outfits off without looking that way I just don't think I can. And I _know_ just by looking at them that regardless of whether I can or not, I'm not going to be comfortable in them."

"Bella, I get that. I do. But, how are you ever going to know for sure if you won't at least try them on?" She has a point. Unfortunately, my points aren't my biggest issue. While they're all true, there's something else keeping me from considering them

"Honestly, Alice" I ask. She nods, telling me simultaneously that she wants to know, and that she'll not interrupt me. "It's that those clothes aren't me. And what if I wear one of those outfits and he _does_ talk to me? He never has before. Not for something outside of school."

She looks confused for a moment, and I can tell she's trying to figure out what I'm failing to articulate. "Ok, so what? I'm trying to get this Bella, but I just can't figure out where you're coming from. Why does it matter what you're wearing when he talks to you?"

I sit there looking up at her ceiling, trying to figure out exactly how to say this so that it will make sense. Once I finally think I have it, I take a deep breath before saying, "What if he's only talking to me _because_ I'm wearing stuff like that? You know I think he's out of my league. That he'll never be interested in someone like me. That I'm not the kind of girl he ever even could be interested in. The whole time, while we're talking, while I'm attempting whatever it is you want me to do to show him I like him, I'm going to be wondering if he's talking to me because I'm me or if it's because the clothes make him think I'm something I'm not. I can't handle that, Alice. Not him talking to me because he thinks I'm something different, or him realizing the next time he sees me that it was all just a fluke."

I can't even begin to decipher the look she's giving me. It's understanding and incredulous and disbelieving and a little sad and whole other host of things I can't describe. "Bella," she says, scrunching her eyebrows up at me, "that's ... I know I've always said you had ridiculously low self-esteem, but I never realized how well thought out it was. What you're saying makes perfect sense. Even if it is completely off the mark. The guy already likes you. I know you don't believe that, but he does. You could probably show up in ratty sweats with your hair in some messy pile on top of your head and he'd still think you're beautiful." That's a bit extreme, Alice, even for you. "My point is, however, just because the clothes you're wearing tonight are different from what you wear to class doesn't mean they make you a different person. Babe, you're still you no matter what I manage to fight you into."

"Intellectually, I know that," I tell her. And I do. In my head, I know it's me regardless of the clothes I'm wearing. "But, that doesn't stop me from being worried about his response. In high school, how many girls were you friends with because you shopped at the same stores, or had the same taste in music, or something equally unimportantly in the long run? That's what I'm ultimately worried about. That any connection we make tonight will be of that shallow kind that's about wearing the right outfit to fit the part."

She comes over and sits down next to me, giving me a hug, before saying "Ok. I see where you're coming from. And I think I have just the outfit to calm the anxiety, while still being party appropriate."

"Ok," I say with a small smile, "Let's see it."

BBB

Surprisingly, or not since this is Alice we're talking about and she was probably parading all those other outfits in front of me to make me suitably grateful when she pulled this out, the outfit was pretty damned perfect. She let me wear a pair of dark skinny jeans I already owned, with a black sleeveless top that had a bit of a V for the back, but it didn't go too low so I was happy with it. She found this adorable pair of zebra print ballet flats for me, too. All in all, I felt like a polished version of myself when we arrived at the party. My hair was down, but she'd used a hair dryer to flip the ends out away from my face, and she'd used a light hand on my make up so it was subtle, not over the top like most of the girls around us.

"Are you drinking tonight?" Jasper yells to me over the sound of the pounding bass, as he pulls his arm from Alice's waist, clearly intending to go get us all drinks.

"I don't think so," I tell him with a small smile. He's always been considerate of the fact that I prefer to be in control of my actions rather than to be a drunken mess. "Wanna just grab me a bottle of water or soda or something?" I request, still smiling at him.

"Sure thing, sugar," he tells me, before kissing Alice's cheek and taking himself off to find the drinks table.

"Do you think he's here yet?" I ask Alice, because I'm getting nervous about what she's going to make me do later.

"I haven't seen him yet, but I'm not exactly the tallest person around so that doesn't mean anything," she says with a laugh, as we both continue looking around the party to see who's there.

"You still haven't told me what you want me to do, by the way." I remind her.

Turning to look at me, she narrows her eyes as she considers me, before declaring "You know, I think I'm going to leave that up to you. I'm not going to force you to do something you don't want to tonight. But you _do_ still have to show him that you're interested, ok?"

What? She's not going to force me to do something? "Ok, who are you? And what have you done with the real Alice?" I ask her, raising an eyebrow.

She laughs before saying "Oh, honey, after that chat we had earlier, I can't seem to bring myself to make you do something and risk you getting all Doubting Debby on me. Have fun with it, ok."

Before I can answer, Rose and Emmett come over to say hi. "Hey, Alice. Alice's friend I don't know. How's it going?" Emmett greets us.

Rose shakes her head while smiling at both of us. "I'm sorry, he's already drunk. The guys started doing shots before even I got here." Looking towards me, she quickly glances at my outfit before saying, "Ya know Bella, that outfit looks really good on you. I don't know if I could pull it off, but its understated elegance fits you perfectly."

Wow. I was _not_ expecting that. Smiling a bit more broadly, I thank her. "Thanks, Rose. That's really nice of you to say. You look gorgeous by the way. I think, between the two of us, I'm the one who could never pull off the other's outfit. That dress looks incredible on you."

"Thank you," she says, and then before she can say anything else, Emmett lets out a whoop and starts to head for door. With an exasperated smile she tells us, "Looks like I'm going to be babysitting him most of the night. I'll see you two later though, ok?"

With that she follows in her boyfriend's wake, as Jasper returns, two red cups in hand, one of which he hands to Alice. "Couldn't find anything alcohol-less then?" I ask, noting the lack of a third drink.

"Actually," a soft voice says from beside me, "he asked me to carry this for him." Looking to my right, I see Edward standing next to me holding out an unopened can of soda. After a second of looking at him in shock, I recover enough to take my drink from him and murmur my thanks. God I'm such an idiot.

"Thanks," I tell him softly, unable to think of anything more intelligent to say to him. He smiles at me, as if to say you're welcome, and I see his throat working as he swallows.

After smiling awkwardly at each other for a minute, Edward lets out a sigh and runs a hand through his hair. As I'm opening the can of soda he got me I hear him say, "I wasn't expecting to see you here tonight, you don't really seem like the party girl type."

Biting the inside of my lip, I look up at him, Alice would tell me it was through my lashes or some shit, but it was just an I-moved-my-eyes-but-not-my-head kind of thing. Deciding to go for broke, I tell him, "Well, I'm really not, but a certain pixie who shall remain nameless was adamant I come, so here I am. I hope my being here isn't a bad thing." I give him a small smile with the last bit to show I'm not being serious.

Taking a half-step closer to me, he says, "There is no possible way you being in the same place I am could ever be a bad thing."

My eyes go wide as I realize just what he's trying to say to me, but I have to be misinterpreting, right? I mean, this is Edward. He can't really feel the same way I do, Alice was just trying to make me feel better. Wasn't she?

"I like your outfit, by the way," he tells me before I have time to formulate any kind of response for his previous statement, "it's different from what you usually wear."

Oh, God. I knew it. Despite everything, despite all the effort Alice put into this outfit, he's only talking to me because of what I'm wearing. I feel like such a fool. Darting my eyes around I see Jasper's easy smile, he's watching something across the room and paying Edward and me no attention at all. Next to him, I notice Alice. She's wearing this smile that looks slightly frozen, as if she was smiling when she heard what Edward said and now it's locked in place. Her eyes have a slight panicked glaze to them. She's knows exactly what kind of downward spiral his well-meaning compliment has sent me into.

Before I have time to get my legs working so I can bolt, I feel his hand brush against my lower back, and his breath against my temple as he says, "Hey, whatever I said, I didn't mean to upset you. Don't be mad." It's like he knows what's going through my head. "What's wrong?" Oh Edward, you don't need to give the puppy eyes to get me to spill my guts to you, I'll do it anyway.

Risking a quick glance at him from the corner of my eye, I see he hasn't backed off even an inch, as if he's trying to ensure he hears anything I might say. Pinching my lips between my teeth, I decide how much to tell him. "It's not so much that anything's wrong, it's just ... I'm a little crazy ok, and the outfit comment is making it worse. The fact that you think my outfit is different, I mean." I'm refusing to look at him. I don't want to see the look on his face when he realizes I'm a complete head case underneath all the sarcasm and bravado.

His hand still resting on my back, he slowing starts moving it up and down, almost like he's rubbing my back, but it's tentative so I'm not completely sure that's what he's doing. "Bella, look at me," he says quietly. I just shake my head, I can't see that look on his face, it'll kill me. Gently, he reaches out and touches my chin. When I don't immediately jerk back, he moves his hand up to my left cheek and exerts just enough pressure to make me turn my head in his direction. Leaving his hand on my cheek, as if to make sure I don't look away, he stares into my eyes, as if he's trying to read something in them. I'm not sure if he finds whatever it is, but his forehead scrunches a bit, and his eyebrows furrow. Another beat passes before he finally speaks.

"I'm not sure what's so wrong with me saying your outfit is different, but I swear it's not a bad different. It's a good different. And it's not different as in it's completely opposite from what you usually wear. I just meant different as in it's a bit nicer than what you'd wear to class, it has a party polish to it that your normal clothes obviously wouldn't have. That's all, I promise. Please, don't be upset."

How can I stay freaked out when he's looking at me like that. He's so sincere and ernest looking, I can't help but let my lips quirk up just the tiniest bit. "Really?" I ask, because I'm still feeling unsure.

"Of course," he breathes, still staring into my eyes like he was. "Listen, I don't want to seem forward, but would you maybe want to find somewhere a little quieter? I can barely hear myself think, and as much as I'm enjoying it, I can't hear anything you say unless I'm all up in your personal space. I really am enjoying being in it, but I don't want you to feel like I'm crowding you or anything."

I can feel my smile getting wider. Glancing back towards the rest of the group, I notice Alice's smile has unfrozen, and she's watching us, so I shoot her a wink. Returning my eyes to the beautiful man in front of me, I tell him I would love to, my smile still firmly attached to my face. Smiling back at me, he takes my hand, and leads me towards the door at the back of the room which leads to the backyard of the frat house.

It takes us a fair bit of maneuvering and more than a couple minutes, but finally we make it out. He leads me over to the side where this porch swing kind of thing is set up under the trees. It's clearly either the work of the girlfriends, or was put there by the brothers as somewhere to bring girls they're trying to impress. Either way, I'm quite grateful for its existence at this particular moment.

Sitting down, Edward to my left, I tip my head back and stare at the stars. "It's so clear tonight," I say, "you can see every star for miles. It's beautiful; I could stare for hours"

"So could I," Edward quietly agrees. Moving just my eyes to the side, I discover he's looking at me and not the stars in the sky. My head drops so that I'm looking at him straight on, and my eyes get large. The silence stretches on, not uncomfortably, but with a strange new edge to it. After a couple minutes, Edward breaks it taking a deep breath. I can't help thinking it's like he's gearing up for something.

"I know this is probably really sudden for you, but I can't keep this in any longer," he bursts out. I have no idea what it is I'm expecting him to say to me, but it's definitely not what he does say. "Bella, I have liked you since almost the exact second I saw you for the first time. I remember thinking I had to know you, that just being able to say I knew a girl like you would be worth something I've never quite been able to identify but have always wanted. You're amazing, and beautiful, and smart, and ... I could go on for hours. I know I'm rambling, this is nothing like any of the things I've come up with to tell you how I felt, but ... that's ok. Because the point is that I wanted you to know, I ... God, Bella there aren't words to do my feelings justice, but in case you couldn't tell, I have serious feelings for you."

He looks terrified. I don't blame him. He's just essentially handed me his heart on a platter, to do with as I please. I'd be terrified too. Taking a second to collect my thoughts, I realize there's nothing I can say in this moment that will be any clearer than doing the one thing I've been thinking about doing since the second I saw him. Raising my right hand, I gently place it on his cheek and run my fingers through his scruff. I hadn't realized it because of how dark it was inside and now out here, but he forgot to shave. I love the way he looks with that little bit of stubble on his face. He's just watching me, waiting to see what I'll do next. Taking a deep breath, I lean in and gently touch my lips to his.

I keep them there, waiting for him to catch up with me. As I do, I gently move mine against his, and note how soft his are. It's weird that I'm noticing something like that, but I am. Then, he catches up with my. He presses his lips more firmly to mine, and in that second I realize his kisses are nothing like I thought they would be. They're better. After I have no idea how much time passes, but it probably wasn't a whole lot, I feel his tongue brushing my bottom lip, silently asking me to open for him, and I do. At the first brush of his tongue over mine I lose all ability to think.

Next thing I notice is that he's wrapped one arm around my waist to pull me closer to him, and at some point my crossed legs ended up over his and he has his other hand resting high on one of my thighs. Moving closer to him, I feel his arm around me tighten briefly, and then his hand starts to slowly climb higher. As I'm arguing with myself about stopping him or letting him continue we hear a loud cheer. Breaking apart we see the frat brothers, backs to the door and windows looking out here, cheering someone on.

While I'm sure my face is pink anyway, I can feel a blush spreading to make it worse. As I'm trying to decide if I'm glowing in the dark or not, I hear Edward let out a soft chuckle, and then he asks me what I've secretly been dying to hear him say to me for three years, "You wanna get out of here? Continue this somewhere a bit more private?"

"Sure," I say, smiling shyly at him. Like I'd ever pass up an offer like that.


End file.
